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Truth Commissions Digital Collection: Reports: Chile


Report of the Chilean
National Commission on
Truth and Reconciliation

Contents

Foreword
Introduction to the English Edition
Guide to the English Edition
Guide to the Editor's Notes
Acronyms
Introduction
Supreme Decree No. 355

PART ONE

Chapter One
Chapter Two

PART TWO

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

PART THREE

Chapter One
Chapter Two

Chapter Three: August 1977 through March 1990

  1. Human rights violations committed by government agents or persons working for them

    1. Overview: periods and significant dates
    2. Cases

      1. Fictitious gun battles
      2. Other executions
      3. Selective executions
      4. Persons tortured to death
      5. Disappearances
      6. Persons killed in political violence
      7. Other deaths from political violence: persons killed in genuine gun battles
      8. Killings and disappearances in other countries

  2. Human rights violations committed by private citizens for political reasons during the August 1977–March 1990 period
  3. People killed in mass protests and demonstrations
  4. Use of undue force and abuses of power tolerated by those in authority
  5. Reactions of major sectors of society

Chapter Four
Chapter Five

PART FOUR

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

APPENDICES

Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III

 

PART THREE
Chapter Three (A.2.b)

August 1977 through March 1990 (continued)

  1. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS OR PERSONS WORKING FOR THEM (continued)

    1. CASES (continued)

      1. Other executions

        On March 18, 1978 the body of Jorge Lenin VERNAL HONORES, an active Socialist and former head of the housing department at the Pension Fund for Privately Employed Persons, was found. The DINA had held him under arrest in March and April of 1974. On March 16, 1978, he was again arrested at his home, and his dead body was found March 18.

        The police report states that the body was found on the northern bank of the Mapocho River opposite Calle Barnechea. The autopsy report says the cause of death was asphyxiation due to being under water and encephalic cranial and spinomedular trauma. Further on it states that "the injuries could have been caused as the body was being pulled through the current or it could have another cause, especially the fracture of the spinal column." That report is contradicted by the report and map prepared for the judicial investigation, which make it clear that the body was found on Calle Barnechea, some meters away from the Mapocho River.

        A number of other anomalies in that legal process suggest that government agents were involved in these events. Among them are the following:

        • Falsified extrajudicial statements by relatives accompanied by police investigations purporting to show that Vernal was a habitual drunk; in the court they had to deny having made such statements.

        • The fact that the police could not tell the judge the name of the officers who found the body since they had failed to register the information and it was impossible to check it.

        • The speculation in the autopsy report and the report prepared by the investigative police Criminal Medical department propose contradictory hypotheses on what caused the injuries on his body. The former says that it could have been due to one or more blunt instruments or other devices or by the body being dragged through the water; the latter says it could have been a traffic accident and that he could then have fallen into the water.

        Taking into account Jorge Vernal's political activism, the fact that he was being held under arrest when the events that cost his life took place, and the obstruction of the justice system, the Commission has come to the conviction that he was executed, that government agents can be presumed to have been responsible, and that his killing was a human rights violation.

        On August 23, 1978, Alfonso Luis AROS PARDO, a taxi driver who was active in the Christian Left, was killed when he was held up, according to newspaper reports. His party work, the persecution that his relatives say he suffered, and the fact that when they received his body none of his valuable items such as a watch, a chain, and so forth had been taken, enable this Commission to reject the claim that it was a robbery and to state that Alfonso Aros was executed by government agents who were acting for political reasons in violation of his human rights.

        On April 28, 1979, the body of José Aristeo AVILES MIRANDA, 72, a contractor who was not known to be politically active, was found in the Lampa district in front of the El Montijo estate in Renca. The previous day he had left his house in the Pudahuel district to do some errands. One of his sons had been held prisoner on Dawson Island after the military coup and had later gone into exile. The cause of the death of José Avilés according to the death certificate is cranial encephalic trauma. The press said it was an execution by the MIR and that the finding of the body had enabled the security services to trace a series of executions committed by that group.

        The Commission has come to the conviction that José Aristeo Avilés was executed for political reasons in violation of his human rights but it does not have the evidence that would make it possible to identify who was responsible.

        The Commission came to a similar conviction in the case of Arturo Ricardo NUÑEZ MUÑOZ, a MIR activist, who was arrested on May 17, 1979, and whose body bearing two bullet wounds to the head appeared the next day in the area of Quilicura. As in the previous case the newspapers reported that "the MIR claimed that it assassinated one of its activists."

        On June 23, 1979, Alberto Eugenio SALAZAR BRICEÑO, a former sailor, and Iris Yolanda VEGA BIZAMA, a merchant, both of whom were active in the MIR, were killed in Concepción by a bomb explosion. The official account said that they were trying to place a bomb at the Radio National station when it exploded on them. The public was told that ten persons whom the CNI accused of being part of the group that planned the operation were arrested. The results of the judicial process to which these events gave rise refutes this account. On June 11, 1980, all concerned were absolved since they could not be proven to have committed any crime. Meanwhile, the investigation into the deaths of these two men established that there were signs that they had been murdered, but there was no proof that would make it possible to accuse particular persons. In view of these conclusions, the Commission has come to the conviction that Alberto Salazar and Iris Vega were executed in violation of their human rights; and taking into account their political activity and the falsity of the official statement, it attributes their killing to government agents.

        On August 13, 1979, Mario Daniel ACUÑA SEPULVEDA, a public employee who was active in the Socialist party, was killed in La Serena. According to the official account issued in a statement by the office of the regional intendant, there was an explosion on a piece of property that belonged to Acuña. The police alerted the CNI which went to search the property. When they identified themselves, someone inside the building threw a bomb and ran. They chased him through the yard but before they entered the house, a second explosion occurred inside and broke all the windows. They found Acuña dead in the bathroom and arrested another person.

        This Commission has in its possession evidence enabling it to state that the above account is false. In the judicial process it was established that, contrary to the official account, it was a CNI agent who went to the police station in Tierras Blancas to report the supposed explosion and asked them to allow him to contact the CNI headquarters. Thus it was not the police who called the CNI. Furthermore, it is not likely that the only person to hear the explosion that precipitated matters should have been a CNI agent. Nor is it plausible that the operation should immediately move to Acuña's house, when it is clear that they had no proof that the explosion had occurred there.

        The autopsy report notes the possibility that his death may have been the result of foul play. When an effort was made to consider this possibility by reexamining the body to check the condition of his hands and see whether it was he who had handled the explosive device, his hands mysteriously disappeared after the body was exhumed, and they could not be subjected to expert examination. The judge assigned to the judicial investigation declared himself incompetent when he determined that persons with military immunity were involved in these events.

        The foregoing, combined with the fact that at that time members of the Socialist party did not advocate the use of violence, led the Commission to the conviction that Mario Acuña was executed by CNI agents.

        On October 31, 1980, José Rienzi ZUMAETA DATTOLI, 38, who was active in the Socialist party, was murdered by a bullet to the forehead as he was about to enter his house. In view of the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that politically motivated persons violated José Zumaeta's human rights, but it was unable to come to a conviction on who they were.

        On July 8, 1981, Hugo RIVEROS GOMEZ, a painter who was part of the MIR's urban support structure and worked primarily in communication, was found dead. He had been arrested by the CNI in November 1980 and put into preliminary detention by the military prosecutor's office. He was released on bail in March 1981. While he was being held at the Borgoño barracks, he managed to look out of the corner of his blindfold and see the main features of the garrison and some of his captors. Once outside, he was able to depict what he saw in his drawings. Hugo Riveros's drawings, including the faces of more than a dozen CNI agents were sent outside the country, but the CNI intercepted one of the packages.

        On July 8, 1981, at 2:30 p.m., four armed young men took Hugo Riveros from his house blindfolded and forced him into a dark blue car. The next night his body was found stabbed to death on a road near the hydroelectric station at los Maitenes in Cajón del Maipo. A group calling itself the Gamma Commando Unit claimed to have killed Hugo Riveros and Oscar Polanco (whose case follows), and indicated that they had acted in retaliation for the killing of a CNI agent a few days earlier in San Miguel.

        Taking into account the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Hugo Riveros was abducted and then executed, presumably by CNI or other government agents, and that his killing was a human rights violation.

        That same night, Oscar POLANCO VALENZUELA, an active Socialist, finished work at the San Juan machine shop in the Pudahuel district and was on his way to meet three friends. He left the office and walked toward Mapocho. He had come a short distance to the corner of Calles Molina Levin and Mapocho when he ran into a friend and had a short conversation. A blue car with three men inside slowly pulled toward them. Two men and a woman were in another car close behind. One of them called him over. Polanco went up to the car, and one of the passengers fired a burst of shots from a rapid fire pistol. Polanco fell to the ground fatally wounded as the vehicles vanished. A group calling itself the Gamma Commando Unit took credit for his killing, like that of Hugo Riveros (mentioned above), and said they were acting in retaliation for the killing of a CNI agent a few days previously in San Miguel.

        Taking into account the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Oscar Polanco was executed on a public thoroughfare by unidentified killers, presumably CNI or other government agents or civilians who were at the service of the government.

        On March 19, 1982, at about 8:10 a.m., René BASOA ALARCON, 35, who had formerly been active in the Communist party, left his house, which was located at Calle Alonso de Trona No. 197 in San Bernardo. A few minutes later he was approached by three men who chased him about twenty yards. One of them took out a 32 calibre pistol and shot three times. One shot hit him in the occipital region, and he died instantly. This information is all registered in reports sent by the police and the investigative police to the court. Bearing in mind the fact that he had previously collaborated with the Joint Command in repression against members of the Communist party, the Commission has come to the conviction that René Basoa was killed by government agents or by private citizens acting for political reasons, and it regards his killing as a human rights violation.

        Mamiña Case
        According to the official report, at midnight on July 1, 1986, members of the police missing vehicles department with the help of other police units, carried out a search of the building on Calle Mamiña No. 150 and found the dead bodies of two sisters, Margarita Eliana MARTIN MARTINEZ and María Paz MARTIN MARTINEZ, and the adolescent Isidro SALINAS MARTIN, who was the son of one of them. The report also said that the three of them belonged to the FPMR and had killed themselves with shots fired at short range. The autopsy reports, however, indicate that:

        • the body of Isidro Salinas had two shots in the head, one from long range and the other from short range;

        • the cause of María Paz Martín's death was a bullet wound to the head; the bullet traveled through the brain from right to left, from above to below, and slightly toward the back; the shot came from a mounted weapon;

        • the cause of Margarita Eliana Martín's death was damage to the brain and chest caused by perforating bullet wounds.

        The weapons found on them were a 38 calibre Colt revolver in normal condition and a model D-64 pistol without a brand name with the carriage stuck and an unspent cartridge in the chamber.

        In view of the evidence gathered, the Commission believes that the official version is untrue, since at least two of the three people who had allegedly committed suicide had two bullet wounds and the weapons in their possession showed no signs of use. Hence it has come to the conviction that the two sisters, Margarita Eliana and María Paz Martín, did not commit suicide, but rather were executed by police officers, and it regards their deaths as human rights violations for which government agents were responsible.
        People killed under the state of siege
        According to relatives who were eyewitnesses to what happened, seven hours after the president's car caravan was ambushed at 2:00 a.m. on September 8, 1986, a group of men in ski masks surrounded the house of Felipe RIVERA GAJARDO, an electrician and an active CP member, in Pudahuel. They took him out and put him in a taxi which headed toward an unknown destination. At about 4:00 a.m. a half dozen heavily armed men broke into the house of Gastón VIDAURRAZAGA MANRIQUEZ, a teacher and MIR activist in San Bernardo. They were joined by police and they took him toward an unknown destination, beating him as they did so.

        At 5:00 a.m. three armed civilians came to the home of José Humberto CARRASCO TAPIA, a journalist and union leader who was a MIR activist, in the Bellavista neighborhood, and they took him away by force.

        The bullet ridden bodies of these three abducted men were found some hours later.

        The next day, that is, September 9 at 3:00 a.m., twelve armed men came to the property of Abraham MUSKATBLIT EIDELSTEIN, who worked in advertising and was active in the CP, in the area of Casas Viejas, and abducted him. His bulletridden body showed up a few hours later in an irrigation canal along the road to Lonquén. That same night armed civilians tried to abduct Luis Toro, who worked as a lawyer for the Vicariate of Solidarity.

        A self-styled September 11 Commando Unit claimed the credit for these events. The minister secretary general of government told the public that the possibility that these crimes reflected an internal purge of the Communist party was not being ruled out.

        In view of the political activism and work of the victims, and considering that the abductors identified themselves as police, that these events took place in the predawn hours in defiance of the strict military and police control then in effect, and that the perpetrators had considerable means at their disposal, the Commission has come to the conviction that these were politically motivated executions for which the government was morally responsible, either because its agents were directly involved in the events, or because they were in complicity with or tolerated these events; these violent killings were therefore human rights violations.

        On January 19, 1988, the body of Juan Carlos HERNANDEZ ALARCON, who was active in the FPMR was found in a canal on the Nogal de Maipú property. He was carrying one of the organization's scarves. The cause of death was trauma to the chest and abdomen from perforating bullet wounds. In view of the foregoing, the Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Hernández was executed for political reasons, but the perpetrators are unknown.

        On October 21, 1988 an FPMR group led by the top leaders, Cecilia MAGNI CAMINO and Raúl PELLEGRIN FRIEDMANN, attacked the small settlement of Los Queñes, leaving a police corporal dead, and then fled back into the mountains. On October 28, 1988, Cecilia Magni's body was found in the Tinguiririca River; that of Raúl Pellegrin was found on October 31, 1988. According to the autopsy reports, both bodies had injuries from blunt instruments and showed signs that electric current had been applied. The report on Raúl Pellegrin said that the cause of death was asphyxiation by being under water, and that the bruises on his back, judging from the distribution, depth and the lack of external wounds, must have been caused by blunt instruments.

        Taking into account all the information received, the Commission has come to the conviction that Cecilia Magni and Raúl Pellegrin were caught while they were fleeing, and were tortured and executed by government agents, and hence it regards their deaths as human rights violations for which those agents were responsible.

        On the night of September 4, 1989, the leader of the political faction of the MIR [see explanation in "current situation of groups practicing violence" on p. 685 of Volume Two], Jécar Antonio NEHGME CRISTI, was murdered by men in civilian clothing as he was crossing Calle Bulnes heading toward the Alameda. The September 11 Commando Unit, which had also been involved in the killings that took place the night after General Pinochet's motorcade was attacked, took credit for this killing. The Commission has proof that he was being continually followed in the days before he was killed, and witnesses have said that they observed it the very day he was killed. The Commission has come to the conviction that Jécar Nehgme was killed by private citizens for political reasons in violation of his human rights, and that there are indications that government agents were involved.

      2. Selective executions

        Tucapel Francisco JIMENEZ ALFARO, a leader of the National Association of Public Employees who was a very important figure of the nationwide anti-government movement at that time, was stopped on February 25, 1982 in the taxi he was driving. He was taken to a secondary road 40 kilometers west of Santiago. There he was shot in the head and killed, and his throat was slit. The motive was not robbery, since he still had money on his person. He had been followed previously on a number of occasions, apparently by security agents, specifically members of the National Secretariat of Occupational and Sector Associations and the CNI. Subsequently there were a number of maneuvers aimed at covering up the crime and impeding the work of investigators. One person confessed to having committed the crime and then committed suicide; later however, it turned out that that person had been murdered, and the confession was false.

        The Commission has come to the conviction that a crime was committed for political reasons, and that Tucapel Jiménez's human rights were violated. Although it cannot categorically state that government agents committed this crime, in weighing all the evidence, it honestly believes that the government is involved in his death, since even if the perpetrators were not government agents, they at least enjoyed government protection.

        Triple throat slitting
        On March 18, 1985, at a time when a state of siege was in effect in the country, Santiago NATTINO ALLENDE, who worked in advertising and was a Communist but was not known to have any responsibilities in the party, was abducted in the street in the wealthy area of the city. Early the next morning José Manuel PARADA MALUENDA, who headed the department of analysis at the Vicariate of Solidarity, was abducted as he was taking his daughter to the Colegio Latinoamericano de Integración. At the same time Manuel Leonidas GUERRERO CEBALLO, who taught at the school and was a leader in the Association of Chilean Teachers (Agech), was abducted. He had been José Manuel Parada's friend for many years.

        The kidnappers had an array of means at their disposal in these two operations. In the case of Santiago Nattino they said they were police and that they were arresting him because of economic problems. Witnesses say that a helicopter was involved in the other kidnapping and that traffic in the area was diverted. The cruelty of the action was made clear when a teacher who tried to stop it was shot point blank.

        Connected to these two attacks was the abduction of Ramón Arriagada in February of that year. He had a degree in architecture. He was interrogated on the activities of Manuel Guerrero and José Parada. Both were involved in making an analysis of the structure and functioning of the Joint Command, on the basis of information obtained some time before from confessions of a former member.

        The abduction was also connected to an operation against the Agech office at Londres No. 75 in the capital carried out on the night of March 28. Santiago Nattino received correspondence and had a telephone line at that location. Manuel Guerrero went there often because he was a leader of the organization. A number of teachers were taken out of the location and held in jail. The place where they were held was later discovered to be the DICOMCAR headquarters on Calle Dieciocho. This was the same site that the Joint Command had previously used under the name of "the Company."

        Despite a great deal of effort expended, there was no word about any of those who had been abducted until March 30, 1985, when their bodies were found with their throats slit along the road between Quilicura and the Pudahuel airport. This crime had a major impact in Chile and elsewhere, and led to an extensive judicial investigation. Government officials initially explained the crime as the result of an internal purge within the Communist party. However, on the basis of the facts recounted and those gathered in the judicial investigation, the Commission has come to the conviction that Manuel Guerrero, José Parada, and Santiago Nattino were executed by government agents because of their political involvement and hence in violation of their human rights.

      3. Persons tortured to death

        On August 21, 1979, Federico Renato ALVAREZ SANTIBAÑEZ, a teacher and MIR activist, was killed. Police had arrested him August 14 in Santiago when he was allegedly preparing to place a bomb. Those who took part in the arrest told another story, that he was simply distributing pamphlets. The CNI later accepted responsibility for having arrested him. On August 20 the CNI took him to the Third military prosecutor's office to make a statement. Lawyers who were there saw that he was in very poor physical condition. He was then taken to the prison infirmary, but the CNI refused to take him to a hospital. The next day he died at the Central Emergency Clinic where he had been rushed. When he was brought in, he was diagnosed has having multiple contusions, hemoptysis, and lung failure. The official explanation of his death was that when he was arrested, a police officer had been forced to hit him on the head in order to subdue him. However, on the basis of the evidence gathered, and particularly the inquiry that the Medical Association made into the behavior of the medical people involved which noted that the cause of death was not any blow to the head he might have received, the Commission has come to the conviction that Alvarez died of the torture he had endured while being held prisoner at a CNI garrison, and it regards his death as a human rights violation for which government agents were responsible.

        On April 21, 1980, Bernardo Enrique SOLORZA GONZALEZ, died. Investigative police arrested him in Talca for committing common crimes. The official report stated that he had committed suicide by hanging himself. That was the cause of death listed on his death certificate. However, evidence and testimony gathered by the Commission indicate that he died as a result of the mistreatment and torture inflicted on him during his imprisonment. The Commission came to the conviction that Bernardo Solorza died of torture inflicted by government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        On August 2, 1980, Eduardo JARA ARAVENA, a journalism student and MIR activist, was killed. He and Cecilia Alzamora had been abducted together on July 23 at the corner of Calles Eliodoro Yáñez and Los Leones. He was held prisoner along with other persons whom his captors, who identified themselves as members of the Avengers of Martyrs Commando Unit (COVEMA) connected to the killing of Colonel Roger Vergara. While he was held prisoner he was subjected to tortures, such as being beaten all over his body, and receiving electrical current and other torture, all of which produced obvious serious effects, such as deep gashes on his wrists, burns on his ankles and lips, and bruises on his forehead and nose. While in prison he was continually groaning from pain, but that only prompted those holding him to beat him further. The prisoners were frequently transferred and they were later able to identify some of the detention sites as investigative police buildings.

        Their captors released Jara and Cecilia Alzamora on August 2 in the La Reina district. He was then taken to Emergency Clinic No. 4, and died there that same day. The Commission has come to the conviction that Eduardo Jara died of the torture he endured while under arrest and that at least members of the investigative police were involved in it, and thus it regards his death as a human rights violation for which government agents were responsible.

        On October 18, 1984, Mario FERNANDEZ LOPEZ, 49, a truck owner who was active in the Christian Democrat party, died. CNI agents arrested him at his home in the city of Ovalle early on the morning of October 17. He was taken to CNI buildings in La Serena and tortured by agents. The next day he had to be taken to the emergency ward of the regional hospital in La Serena, but he was already dying. He died at 10:30 p.m. as a result of violent blows to the abdominal wall which caused a hypobolemic shock due to tissue damage, according to the autopsy report.

        In response, the CNI made a public statement that, "On October 18, the prisoner suffered a nervous breakdown and lost control over himself because his terrorist and subversive activities had been discovered, and he beat himself against the prison furniture. No one else was involved. He injured himself in unspecified ways, thus making it advisable to transfer him to the regional hospital in La Serena because his heartbeat and breathing had stopped." In the court case, two CNI employees were accused of unnecessary violent actions leading to death. In view of the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Mario Hernández died of the torture inflicted by CNI agents, and hence it does not regard the official report as truthful, and it regards these events as a human rights violation for which government agents were responsible.

        On October 22, 1984, the body of Juan Antonio AGUIRRE BALLESTEROS, 23, a baker who was not politically active, was found. At about 5:45 a.m. on September 4, 1984, a day on which people were being called out to participate in a national protest against the military government, police arrested Aguirre and some friends of his as they were on their way to work at the corner of Calle Brangranza and Avenida Salvador Gutiérrez in Pudahuel. He was blindfolded and taken to a place where he was physically abused, according to testimony by people who were being held along with him. His body was found 51 days later at the Codegua marshlands in the area of La Leona in San Rafael de Melipilla. Officials have never acknowledged his arrest. Taking into account the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Aguirre died of the torture to which he was subjected by government agents, and that his body was thrown onto unused land to conceal what had happened; it regards his killing as a human rights violation for which government agents were responsible.

        On February 22, 1985, Carlos GODOY ECHEGOYEN, a student who was active in the Socialist party, died. He was in Quintero together with other young Socialist party activists when police from the local police station arrested them and accused them of being involved in a guerrilla training school. The young people were interrogated and tortured at the Quintero police station and then transferred to Viña del Mar. Later they were taken back to Quintero, and members of DICOMCAR who had made a special trip from Santiago took charge of the operation. The young people were beaten and electrical current was applied to them. Godoy died as a result of this mistreatment on February 22, 1985. In their official report, the police said that the cause of death was a heart condition. Information in the hands of the Commission, including his prior medical records and the autopsy reports, leaves no room to doubt that Carlos Godoy's death was the result of torture that government agents had inflicted on him in violation of his human rights.

        On June 24, 1989, police arrested Marcos QUEZADA YAÑEZ, 17, a student who was active in the Pro-Democracy party (PPD), on the street in Curacautín, and took him to the checkpoint. A few hours later he died as a result of "shock, probably from an electric current," according to the autopsy report. Taking into account the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Marcos Quezada did not commit suicide--and hence it rejects the official report--but that he died as a result of torture applied by government agents in violation of his human rights.

      4. Disappearances

        On August 18, 1977, Sergio Hernán LEAL DIAZ, a minor industrialist in Rio Bueno who was active in the Socialist party, was arrested by plainclothes agents as he was arriving at the hospital in la Union, where the health department buildings were located. He had been arrested September 11, 1973, and had suffered further persecution afterwards. There has been no further word about him since the date of his last arrest. The Commission came to the conviction that he underwent forced disappearance at the hands of government agents in violation of his human rights.

        On August 30, 1977, Luis Gerardo OTAROLA VALDES, an active member of the Communist party, was arrested at his home on Calle Teniente Montt, Lot 53, in Valparaíso. The house was searched, and he was taken away under arrest by six heavily armed plainclothes agents. His wife and daughter observed what happened. On August 31, 1977, Sergio Jorge HIDALGO ORREGO, was arrested at midnight at his house in the presence of his wife. A neighbor also observed the arrest and was able to identify three of the vehicles involved in the operation. The arrest of Sergio Hidalgo, who was active in the Socialist party, was part of an operation by the SIM from Valparaíso. On August 31, 1977, Raúl Iván CARCAMO ARAVENA, who was active in MAPU, was arrested on Calle Traslaviña in Viña del Mar. At least eight agents were involved in the arrest which took place on a public thoroughfare and was observed by witnesses. Finally on October 9, 1977, Hernán Leopoldo QUEZADA MONCADA disappeared after going out with a security agent with whom he previously had ties.

        The Commission came to the conviction that all these people disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated their human rights.

        On October 17, 1977, Jenny del Carmen BARRA ROSALES, a student and MIR activist, was arrested at about 9:30 p.m. after leaving a friend's house. On October 19, 1977, a group of plainclothes agents arrested Hernán Santos PEREZ ALVAREZ, as he was leaving preschool G-27 in the Teniente Merino shantytown where he worked. This young man, who was active in the Socialist party and a friend of Jenny Barra, was hit with brass knuckles and forcibly put into a vehicle. Many witnesses observed the abduction and they saw the license number of one of the vehicles. Inside they could see Jenny Barra already under arrest and surrounded by three people.

        The judicial investigation brought to light that the license plate of that vehicle had been issued free of charge by the municipality of Renca to the agency called DINAR, which gave an address in the Diego Portales building. These facts in combination with other evidence have enabled this Commission to come to the conviction that the arrest and disappearance of Jenny Barra and Hernán Pérez the work of DINA agents who thus violated their human rights.

        On December 15, 1977, police came looking for Pedro Gonzalo MILLAS MARQUEZ, who was frightened and tried to run away but was caught and arrested. Before his disappearance he had previously been harassed repeatedly by police from the police station in Lautaro because of his previous support for the Popular Unity government. There has been no further word on him since that day. The Commission came to the conviction that Pedro Millas disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        On January 23, 1978, at 3:45 p.m. the army subofficer Guillermo JORQUERA GUTIERREZ was arrested by police from the Fourteenth station in Santiago on Calle Bustos No. 2021, which is near the Venezuelan embassy in Chile. According to the police report, this subofficer was trying to seek asylum and in the process he abused a police officer but did not cause serious injury. A few hours later police officials handed Guillermo Jorquera over to the army intelligence directorate as prisoner. He was a well-known intelligence specialist who had worked for the DINA outside the country and in the Foreign Ministry. He had worked on intelligence and security matters in the Foreign Ministry while Carlos Guillermo Osorio Mardones was minister. Osorio Mardones's tragic death which occurred shortly before these events is regarded as relevant to the asylum attempt, arrest, and disappearance of Guillermo Jorquera.

        High level army officials told the courts that he had been released the day he was arrested, and no charges were made, and the matter was not brought to either the court system or the military prosecutor's office. That claim is not credible when seen in the light of the accusations made against him the moment he was arrested and the fact that there has been no further word about him. In view of the foregoing, the Commission concluded that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that he disappeared at the hands of government agents in violation of his human rights.

        In the early morning of February 8, 1978, members of the investigative police arrested Luis René CESPEDES CARO, at his home in the Angel Bugueño shantytown in the La Cisterna district in Santiago. They also arrested his brother and two other persons. They were all taken to investigative police headquarters on Calle General Mackenna in Santiago. The others were released in the predawn hours, but Cespedes was not released and has been disappeared since then. The Commission came to the conviction that Luis Céspedes disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        In early March 1978, police from the checkpoint of the Zañartu neighborhood in Chillán arrested Celindo del Carmen CATALAN ACUÑA in the Santa Elvira sector of the city. The youth's relatives observed him being arrested. Since then there has been no word on him. The Commission came to the conviction that Celindo Catalán disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        On February 20, 1980, police in Curicó arrested Fermín del Carmen MARTINEZ ROJAS and took him to the checkpoint at Barrio Norte in the city. Police officials told his relatives that he had been released that same day in order to get the money he needed for bail. This claim does not fit the usual way the police function in arrests, and does not explain why nothing further has been heard of Martínez. The Commission came to the conviction that Fermín Martínez disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        On November 15, 1981, at about 8:30 p.m. a group of ten young people were standing around on Avenida Departamental in Santiago when an investigative police van pulled up. Four civilians with automatic weapons got out and threatened to arrest them and take them away unless they left the area. One of the youths jokingly told the men that they would not all fit in the truck. The remark annoyed the police, and they responded by violently beating the young man and then arresting and taking away Hipólito ZUÑIGA ADASME and Pablo RODRIGUEZ LEAL Both have been disappeared since then. The Commission came to the conviction that both of these people disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated their human rights.

        On December 12, 1981, Oscar Elicer ROJAS CUELLAR, a MIR activist, was arrested in Santiago, very probably by CNI agents. He has been disappeared since then. After a war tribunal found him guilty in 1973, Oscar Rojas had been able to have his sentence reduced to exile. He served part of this punishment in exile in England. In 1980 he had returned to Chile clandestinely, since he was prohibited from entering the country. All the members of his MIR cell were killed in gun battles with the CNI, except for one survivor who is still in prison. CNI officials subjected this prisoner to exhaustive interrogation, including asking about Rojas' activities. That fact, taken in conjunction with other evidence on him, led this Commission to the conviction that he disappeared at the hands of government agents in violation of his human rights.

        On December 20, 1984, Sergio Fernando RUIZ LAZO, a MIR leader who had secretly returned to Chile at the beginning of the month, was arrested in Santiago by CNI agents. Sergio Ruiz had been arrested by DINA agents in 1975 and was held prisoner at Villa Grimaldi, Cuatro Alamos, and Tres Alamos. He then lived with his family in exile in France. Officials had issued an exempt decree barring him from entering the country. Even though officials denied that he had been arrested, this Commission received information from witnesses and other evidence indicating that he was held prisoner at the CNI facility on Calle Borgoño before he disappeared. The Commission came to the conviction that Sergio Ruiz disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        The adolescent Rubén Simón SOTO CABRERA disappeared on January 18, 1983 in Valparaíso. In light of the evidence it was able to examine, this Commission believes that agents of the security services can reasonably be assumed to have been responsible. In 1973 his father, Gustavo Soto Peredo, who was active in the Communist party, and his brother Gustavo Soto Cabrera, a MIR activist, were arrested and then disappeared. The Commission came to the conviction that Rubén Soto disappeared at the hands of government agents who thus violated his human rights.

        Five disappearances in September 1987
        On September 1, 1987 army colonel Carlos Carreño, an engineer at Famae [military weapons factory] was kidnapped from his home in the La Reina district in Santiago by an FPMR group. A few hours later a whole series of operations was conducted by the CNI and security forces who were working jointly and in collaboration with police personnel to locate him. Over the next few days house-to-house sweeps to locate the colonel were extended throughout the metropolitan area. In the course of these operations CNI agents arrested five young CP activists who appear to have been connected to the FPMR.

        They were Jos' Julián PEÑA MALTES, an engineer who was arrested September 9, 1987; Julio Orlando MUÑOZ OTAROLA, a technician arrested on the street on September 9, 1987; Manuel Jesús SEPULVEDA SANCHEZ, who was arrested September 10, 1987 after leaving his house in Santiago at 7:00 p.m.; Alejandro Alberto PINOCHET ARENAS, an automobile mechanic, who was arrested in the street before witnesses in the course of a large operation on September 10, 1987; and Gonzalo Iván FUENZALIDA NAVARRETE, a furniture maker, who was arrested September 9-10, 1987 (CNI agents had searched the house of his fiancée on September 3 and had first asked what his nickname was).

        Even though officials and the head of the CNI denied that these people had been arrested, this Commission can only regard it as a certain and true fact, in view of their political activity, the circumstances of their arrest, what witnesses say about how the arrest was made in the one instance in which there are eyewitness accounts, and the overall context of the moment. The Commission came to the conviction that all these people disappeared at the hands of government agents or of people working for government agents who thus violated their human rights.

        On the night of November 14, 1989, Héctor Segundo PACHECO AVENDAÑO was arrested in the Lo Herminda de la Victoria shantytown, in Cerro Navia. He was involved in a human rights working group in the chapel of Our Lady of Hope in the shantytown where he lived. On two previous occasions he had protested that he was being pursued by unidentified persons and that they were keeping the local parish under surveillance. The Commission came to the conviction that Héctor Pacheco suffered a grave human rights violation, namely being arrested and then disappearing. It was not able to determine who was responsible for these actions, however.

      5. Persons killed in political violence

        During this period a large number of people were killed in violence that derived not from a deliberate violation of human rights, but from the overall situation of political violence in the country. This section presents those cases in which the victim of political violence was not involved in an armed confrontation.

        October and November 1983 saw a resurgence of violent actions in Concepción. In some instances men in plainclothes who did not identify themselves and did not show any warrants were carrying out arrests. In addition people have testified that they were subjected to torture by government agents.

        This was the context in which Galo and María Candelaria Acevedo Sáez, the children of Sebastián ACEVEDO BECERRA, were arrested on November 9, 1983, by unidentified armed civilians. Their father desperately went looking for them at different sites and asked for help from many quarters, suspecting that they were being held by the CNI. On November 11, 1983, when he had not received any information on them, as a form of protest and in order to pressure officials, Acevedo put kerosene and gasoline on his clothes in the city square; when a policeman tried to arrest him, he lit a match, and died a few hours later of the burns he sustained.

        The Commission has determined that while Sebastián Acevedo certainly died as a result of his own actions, and that strictly speaking his death cannot be classified as a human rights violation, he was a victim of political violence, since he made the decision that cost him his life as an extreme measure to save his children from consequences that were not clear but which certainly could have been extremely serious, or as a desperate way to protest what was tormenting him as a father.

        On April 30, 1984, Sergio Antonio QUINTANA MICHELSON, 32, an office worker who was not politically active, was killed. The official report states that on April 30, at about 1:10 a.m. soldiers on guard duty at Garrison No. 2 of the War Arsenals were pursuing a suspect and shot approximately twenty bullets in the air without halting him. One of those bullets hit the shack located at Isabel Riquelme No. 1626 which was occupied by Sergio Antonio Quintana and hit him in the neck. He died on the spot. On the basis of the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Sergio Quintana died of political violence.

        On May 4, 1984, at about 8:00 p.m. a group of shantytown dwellers tried to break into the Baratísimo supermarket at the corner of Calles Teniente Cruz and José Joaquín Pérez in the Pudahuel district, but they were immediately blocked by police from the western precinct. Later under circumstances that have not been clarified, Máximo Astolfo BERMUDEZ BALLON, and his father, Juan Rafael BERMUDEZ GAETE, who were unarmed, were shot to death. Taking into account the evidence it has received and especially testimony from witnesses, the Commission has come to the conviction that Máximo and Juan Rafael Bermúdez were victims of political violence.

        On August 23, 1984, a group of subversives robbed the Italiana and Real gunshops at Nos. 164 and 169 Calle Arturo Prat in Santiago. As they were making their escape they ran into CNI agents in the area where the North-South highway passes Parque O'Higgins. Guido Héctor SEPULVEDA FERREIRA, who by chance was walking by, was fatally wounded. In view of the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Guido Sepúlveda died a victim of political violence.

        On May 23, 1989, at the shopping center in Santa Rosa a group of youths broke into a store intending to rob it. At that moment two policemen assigned to Station No. 13 of La Granja who were patrolling the area tried to stop the robbery but were repelled by gunfire and were wounded. Macarena Denisse TORRES TELLO, a six-year-old girl, was hit in the shootout and died on the way to the hospital. In view of the evidence accumulated, the Commission has come to the conviction that Macarena Torres died a victim of political violence.

        On Saturday November 26, 1989, at 9:00 p.m., Pablo Marcelo ROBLES ORTEGA, 16, who was not politically active, and a cousin stopped at a stand in the La Obra area and bought a bottle of liquor to take to a party. At that moment the power went off, apparently because of an explosion. A friend advised them not to go near the area of the monument, but they had to go that way to return to the cousin's house. As they were passing by they were both hit by bullets, and Robles died a few minutes later. In view of the evidence it has examined, the Commission has come to the conviction that Pablo Robles died a victim of political violence.

      6. Other deaths from political violence: persons killed in genuine gun battles

        As was noted in Part One, Chapter Two of this report those whom the Commission regards as victims of political violence include:

        persons who died while using weapons in self-defense trying to resist efforts by the DINA, the CNI or other security agencies when they could reasonably fear that their fate would be torture and death. This Commission holds that regardless of what might be thought of the ideas or political activities of those who were killed in this fashion, and even though being killed in such a clash cannot be regarded as a human rights violation in the strict sense, no one can be faulted either rationally or morally for defending himself or herself from being arrested when there is a well-founded fear that arrest will entail torture and death.

        That chapter also states that those who commit suicide in situations like the one described above are also regarded as victims of political violence.

        At this point we report on a number of cases of people who were victims of political violence during this period inasmuch as they were killed under such circumstances.

        On August 4, 1979, Antonio Apolonio LAGOS RODRIGUEZ, a mining technician and MIR activist, was killed when CNI agents attacked his house in Arrayán. The shooting caused a fire in the house and set off an explosion. Lagos was burned to death. The Commission has come to the conviction that Antonio Lagos died a victim of political violence.

        On November 27, 1979, Ricardo Delfín RUZ ZAÑARTU, a teacher and a MIR activist, was killed when the police were stopping and checking cars at the corner of Calle Pedro de Valdivia and Las Encinas in Santiago. When he realized what was happening he tried to escape in the taxi in which he was riding. He was killed in the ensuing clash with the police. The Commission has come to the conviction that Ricardo Ruz died a victim of political violence.

        On January 16, 1978, Gabriel Octavio RIVEROS RAVELO, an engineer and MIR activist, was killed on Calle Pablo Goyeneche Iver No. 010 in Santiago. He was caught by surprise that day when CNI agents violently burst into his house shooting. They also fired tear gas bombs further into his house so he would surrender. He died of a bullet to the head which the autopsy report stated was the kind of wound typical of suicide. The Commission has come to the conviction that Gabriel Riveros died a victim of political violence.

        In the morning of April 28, 1980, Oscar SALAZAR JAHNSEN, a teacher, left his house and did not return at noon as he had said he would. He had been followed, and hence had preventively introduced an appeal for protection on his own behalf. That was the day on which the policeman guarding the flame of freedom on Cerro Santa Lucia was killed. At 8:00 p.m. CNI agents searched his house. The next day his family read in the newspapers that he had been killed in a gun battle with security services. The Commission has come to the conviction that Oscar Salazar died a victim of political violence.

        On April 23, 1981, Juan TRUJILLO LUCERO, 24, a MIR activist, was killed in a gun battle with police. The newspaper said he had committed suicide when he realized that they had him trapped. Other accounts say he was killed during the gun battle. The Commission has come to the conviction that Juan Trujillo died a victim of political violence.

        On August 16, 1981, Arcadia Patricia FLORES PEREZ, 27, a MIR activist who was part of its military structure, was killed. According to statements by witnesses, after her husband was arrested, investigative police tried to enter her house at Calle Petronila No. 644, but Arcadia Flores fought back shooting from inside. She was killed in the ensuing exchange of fire. The Commission has come to the conviction that Arcadia Flores died a victim of the political violence of that moment.

        On August 17, 1981, at 7:40 p.m. Lisandro Salvador SANDOVAL TORRES, 26, a MIR activist, was killed in a gun battle with CNI agents when they tried to arrest him at the corner of Calles Rosas and Van Guard in the Risopatrón shantytown in the Santiago district. The Commission has come to the conviction that Lisandro Sandoval died a victim of political violence.

        On January 6, 1982, Enrique Hernán REYES MANRIQUEZ, 36, a former first corporal of the Chilean Air Force who was head of the MIR central force, was killed at the central market in a shootout with CNI agents who had been following his tracks, according to evidence gathered by the Commission. The Commission has come to the conviction that Enrique Reyes died a victim of political violence.

        On January 16, 1982, according to evidence gathered by the Commission, Ernesto ZUÑIGA VERGARA, 29, a MIR activist, was at the corner of Calles Teniente Cruz and José Joaquín Pérez in Pudahuel, when he realized that CNI agents were nearby. He went running and in the subsequent gun battle with the agents he was fatally wounded. The Commission has come to the conviction that Ernesto Zúñiga died a victim of political violence.

        On November 28, 1982, Dagoberto CORTES GUAJARDO, 33, a MIR leader, was killed in a gun battle with police who tried to arrest him near Calle Aldunate No. 5009 in Santiago. The Commission has come to the conviction that Dagoberto Cortés died a victim of political violence.

        On February 7, 1983, as he was leaving his house, Fernando Eugenio IRIBARREN GONZALEZ, 26, a MIR activist, saw that CNI agents were following him; witnesses say he then ran toward the Plaza Manuel Rodríguez where he was surrounded, resisted, and was shot down by security forces. The Commission has come to the conviction that Fernando Iribarren died a victim of political violence.

        On April 19, 1983, at about 7:00 a.m., two MIR activists who had secretly entered the country, Manuel Genaro FLORES DURAN, 28, and Germán OSORIO PEREZ, 30, were intercepted by security agents while they were crossing the street at Calle Villaseca No. 185 in the Ñuñoa district in Santiago. They were killed in the ensuing gun battle, according to evidence held by the Commission. The Commission has come to the conviction that Manuel Flores and German Osorio were victims of political violence.

        On June 10, 1984, according to evidence held by the Commission, at the corner of Balmaceda and Almirante Barroso, investigative police thought Arnoldo FLORES ECHEVERRIA and Oscar TAPIA LEYTON looked suspicious. They were active in the Communist party. When they realized that they were being followed they ran away, and were then fatally wounded by the agents. The Commission has come to the conviction that Manuel Flores and Germán Osorio were victims of political violence.

        On September 5, 1986, according to evidence held by the Commission, a group of shantytown dwellers tried to enter a bakery in the Villa Francia shantytown. Police moved in with helicopter support. Miguel Angel LEAL DIAZ, 18, was killed, although how he was killed remains unclear. The Commission has come to the conviction that Miguel Leal died a victim of political violence.

        On September 16, 1988, according to evidence gathered by this Commission, at 1:05 p.m. at the corner of Calles Carrera and Lincoyán in the city of Concepción, Héctor Leonardo RAMIREZ PINO, 38, a member of the FPMR, was wounded in a gun battle between the CNI and civilians, and subsequently died. The Commission has come to the conviction that Héctor Ramírez died a victim of political violence.

        On April 18, 1989, Iván PALACIOS GUARDA, 19, was killed, and Erick RODRIGUEZ HINOJOSA, 20, was wounded in a gun battle with security agents. According to the official account, at 9:10 p.m., in the 4000 block of Avenida San Pablo, electrical power went out. In a gun battle between CNI agents and civilians, Iván Palacios was killed on the spot and Erick Rodríguez was wounded and died later. However according to testimony by witnesses that the Commission has received, since early 1988 someone calling himself "Miguel" had been working his way into the shantytowns and into the youth group in which these two were involved. They say they that have proof that Miguel was a security agent, and that he was pretending to be the MIR organizer for the area, and thus recruiting young people ages 18 to 24 to join the Resistance Command. In view of the evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Iván Palacios and Erick Rodríguez were shot by CNI agents in a gun battle and died as victims of political violence.

        On August 31, 1989, Marcelo Esteban BARRIOS ANDRADE, a history and geography student who was active in the FPMR, was killed. He was killed in a gun battle with members of the navy when they tried to arrest him at Cerro Yungay in Valparaíso. In view of the testimony it has taken and other evidence gathered, the Commission has come to the conviction that Marcelo Barrios was killed in a gun battle with government agents, and that he died a victim of political violence.

      7. Killings and disappearances in other countries

        1. Human rights violations in which it cannot be said that agents of the Chilean government were involved

          The Commission examined a number of instances in which the human rights of Chileans were violated in Argentina in which it was unable to come to the conviction that agents of the Chilean government were involved. The circumstances in which these people were living, the fact that the Chilean political situation crucially affected their decision to leave the country, the proven collaboration of agencies and groups in Argentina with agents of the Chilean government in other instances of repression, taken together constituted a background that prompted the Commission to examine these cases and to present them in order to provide a complete picture of the truth, along with its antecedents and circumstances, as it was enjoined to do. In doing so, however, it is not claiming that the Chilean government or its agents were responsible for the specific events recounted in this next section. The Commission is nonetheless declaring that these persons were victims of the situation of political violence in Chile insofar as events in Chilean political life had a bearing on how they came to find themselves in such jeopardy, and for the other reasons already set forth.

          On September 11, 1977, Cherif Omar AINIE ROJAS, who had lived in Argentina since childhood and was studying chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires, was arrested in the Quilmes neighborhood. The next day troops from the joint armed forces raided his house and took his identification card. The Commission concluded that Cherif Ainie was arrested and disappeared in Argentina in violation of his human rights in the context mentioned above. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that Chilean government agents were responsible.

          In 1978, the Chilean citizens Raúl TAPIA HERNANDEZ, Jaime Nury RIQUELME GANGAS, and Luis ESPINOZA GONZALEZ, were arrested in Buenos Aires. They were exiles and were working legally in Argentina. They disappeared in the context noted above in violation of their human rights. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that Chilean government agents were responsible.

          In April 1978, Carlos Patricio ROJAS CAMPOS, an active Communist, disappeared. He had been persecuted in Calama and Tocopilla until 1977, when he took refuge in Buenos Aires. He regularly corresponded with his family in Chile by mail. Since that date there has been no word about him. In view of the insecurity in which Chilean political refugees were living in Argentina, his political activity and persecution in Chile before he fled, and the fact that human rights organizations in Argentina include him on their lists of victims, the Commission believes that it is quite probable that he disappeared in Argentina and that his human rights were violated, but it cannot say so categorically nor can it affirm that Chilean security agencies were involved in this matter.

          On July 26, 1978, Cristina CARREÑO ARAYA, an active Communist, disappeared in Argentina. She had arrived from Hungary at the beginning of the month. On the 24th, she said she was being followed and asked for refugee status at the office of CEAS, the Catholic church agency that was working in coordination with the UNHCR. Although there is no doubt that Cristina Carreño's human rights were violated, since many witnesses have testified that she was held at the Argentinean police facilities of El Banco and Olympo in Buenos Aires, the Commission cannot say that agencies of the Chilean government were responsible.

          On January 27, 1979, Oscar Orlando OYARZUN MANZO, an active member of the Chilean Communist party who had been a refugee in Argentina since 1974, was abducted by plainclothes agents and killed on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The investigation into the case established that the abduction and subsequent killing of Oscar Oyarzún, who had just obtained his visa to go to Germany as a refugee, was a politically motivated execution in violation of his human rights. It took place in the overall context of Argentina described above, but it cannot be said that Chilean agents were involved.

        2. Killings in Argentina for which Chilean government agents were responsible

          On November 1, 1977, a patrol of civilian agents intercepted José Luis DE LA MAZA ASQUET, a MIR activist, on the street in Tucumán. He never reappeared. He had taken refuge in Argentina after the DINA had come looking for him at his home and his workplace in Rancagua. From 1975 to 1977 he lived in the provinces of Mendoza and Tucumán. Witnesses have said that a person in Argentina with DINA ties informed the Argentinean police about José Luis de la Maza's political past. The Commission believes that there are good grounds to believe that José de la Maza disappeared in Argentina in violation of his human rights and that agents of the Chilean government were involved in bringing it about.

          On January 10, 1978, Argentinean police arrested Guido Arturo SAAVEDRA INOSTROZA, a student at the University of Buenos Aires and an office worker at the Textil Gloria factory. He has been disappeared since that date. This university student had left Chile in the post-September 11, 1973 period after he had been arrested at the Universidad Federico Santa María in Valparaíso. Evidence made available to the Commission has enabled it to come to the conviction that Guido Saavedra suffered a human rights violation committed outside the country by agents of the Chilean government or with their participation. To arrive at that conviction it considered the high level of communication between Argentinean and Chilean security agencies at that time, which taken in conjunction with the evidence specific to this case, provides grounds for assuming that such was the case.

          On February 19, 1981, José Alejandro CAMPOS CIFUENTES, a nursing student, and Luis QUINCHAVIL SUAREZ, a former Mapuche leader, both of whom were MIR activists, were arrested along the Chilean-Argentinean border in the area of Paimún. They had both attempted a clandestine entry into Chile in the so-called "Operation Return." War tribunals had previously sentenced them to prison terms, which were reduced to exile in 1975, and hence they were prohibited from entering the country.

          The evidence gathered taken in conjunction with the CNI operations that ended in the dismantling of guerrilla activity in the area of Neltume in 1981 led this Commission to the conviction that José Campos and Luis Quinchavil were arrested on the border by Argentinean police who turned them over to Chilean security agents in whose hands they disappeared in violation of their human rights.


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Posted by USIP Library on: October 4 2002
Source: Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
(Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993), vol. II/II, Part Three, Chapter Three (A.2.b), 659-679.

Note: Digitized and posted by permission of the University of Notre Dame Press, February 22, 2000.

 


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